Question 1

Could I use como também instead of mas também in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely. não só... mas também and não só... como também both mean "not only... but also" and are completely interchangeable in this context. You could just as easily say não só longo, como também difícil. Notice that in Portuguese, we typically place a comma before the second half of the phrase.

Question 2

Why is primeiro placed before the noun, but extracurricular is placed after it?

Accepted Answer

Most descriptive adjectives in Portuguese, like extracurricular, come after the noun they describe (torneio). However, ordinal numbers like primeiro (first), segundo (second), etc., are treated as special determiners that almost always come before the noun.

Question 3

Why doesn't extracurricular change its ending to match the masculine noun torneio?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives that end in -ar (as well as those ending in -e, -l, or -z) are typically "invariable" in gender. This means they use the exact same form for both masculine and feminine nouns. It is o torneio extracurricular (masculine) and a atividade extracurricular (feminine).

Question 4

Since a tournament is an event that eventually ends, why do we use é (from ser) instead of a form of estar?

Accepted Answer

Even though a tournament only lasts for a specific period of time, being "long" and "difficult" are inherent characteristics of its design or format. We use ser (é) to describe permanent or defining traits. If we were describing a temporary status—such as the tournament being delayed or paused—we would use estar.

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